It's sort of a banana...put it in your mouth.

[Menard]

Awwww...thank ya very mush.

Working in a variety of different retail stores, you see things come and go. Sometimes you see things, but, apparently, nobody else did.

Reese's, as in the peanut butter cups, put out a limited edition Elvis Reese's Cups last August; I'm certain the King would be proud that the 30th anniversary of his death was celebrated with a peanut butter cup.

The Elvis Cup had a banana in it.

Oh, that just don't sound right; let me try again.

The Elvis limited edition Reese's Cups had a banana flavor added to the regular peanut butter cups.

I had tried one of these; once, and only once.

It seemed as though the display of Elvis cups remained full; like nobody was buying them.

Being that limited editions sometimes, okay often, flop, do we always notice them anyway?

What limited editions, special editions, or attempts at a new product have you noticed that appears to have flopped to you?

What would you consider one of the biggest product flops?

Have you ever gotten attached to a new product, only to discover that it had been pulled from the market for lack of sales?

[Trevor]

  Hi, Dr M.

Our local milk supplier put out a new kind of cow juice the other day: tired from work, I just grabbed a container, paid and got home. I made some coffee and used this milk and spat the coffee out, scalding the cat. I was wondering what was up: was my coffee old or was the milk bad, until I looked at the label and saw that the milk was vanilla flavoured. I tasted it: delicious, like a milkshake.

Now it has become so popular, I can't find it anywhere. 

My other lifelong attachment has been to orange flavoured chocolate. I know that might sound gross, but it isn't really. That's another thing I can't find anywhere: I approached Cadbury's and they said that the product had been taken off the market. Too popular, I suppose.

[Derf]

I looked at the label and saw that the milk was vanilla flavoured. I tasted it: delicious, like a milkshake.

Now it has become so popular, I can't find it anywhere. 

Vanilla milk is really quite easy to make; we used to do it quite often. You just add some sugar to the milk and a spoonful of vanilla extract. You'd have to experiment a bit to get it to your taste, but it's not difficult. One dairy around here started selling vanilla-flavored milk, and I had to laugh since it was something I'd been making since childhood.

On topic, I, too, noticed that the Elvis Reese's cups seemed to last forever, but I never knew whether it was because they flopped or because Reese's was making money from them (I don't care for the chocolate and peanut butter combination, so I don't eat Reese's).

As for products that I wanted that flopped, there are several. I always preferred the Nabisco toaster pastries to Kellogg's Pop-Tarts; they were cheaper and, I thought, tasted better. Stores around here stopped carrying them, though, going instead with store-brand (HEB) pastries, which aren't as good as the Pop-Tarts. I don't know if Nabisco stopped making the things, or if our stores just don't carry them; HEB is pretty much a monopoly in South Texas. Also, I don't remember the manufacturer, but there used to be a series of canned vegetable dishes. There were several that I liked, but they all disappeared from our store shelves. The dishes themselves are not hard to make, which is probably why they flopped, but it was mighty convenient to just open a can and microwave the contents for a quick meal/side dish.

[Newt]

Trevor? If you are yet to make that trip to Canada (sorry, I cannot remember when it was to be), we have all sorts of orange-flavoured chocolate available.  Something else to look forward to.

[Trevor]

  Thanks Newt, that sounds great.

I was supposed to come to Canada in August this year, but the local organizers of the conference rejected my proposal and paper: so I won't be coming. 

The people that go to these types of conferences have to be "representative", whatever that is supposed to mean. I am not representative, so I can't go, unfortunately. 30 years of knowledge and 15 years of library training count for nothing apparently. 

But thanks for the kind words and nice offer. 

[raj]

For flops, I don't think anything could beat New Coke.  And then there's all the various Coke flavors like vanilla, etc.

[Mr. DS]

Have you ever gotten attached to a new product, only to discover that it had been pulled from the market for lack of sales?

As Raj mentioned above, I really enjoyed Vanilla Coke and they got rid of it a few years back.  Didn't Mountain Dew come out with a cherry version that tanked a few years ago?

Most recently everyone in my house was hooked on Smarties Jelly Beans around Easter. Granted I can't say if they're going to stop making them but if they did that would suck.  I really wish they'd start doing them year round since Starburst seems to do that.

Are we counting restaurants and their products.  If so McDonald's comes to mind for several awful flops.  (Arch Deluxe, Pizza, etc)

[Patient7]

I LOVED C2, it was coca-cola, but with half the calories and carbs and whatnot, but it tasted exactly like coke.  I also enjoyed Extra: Wildberry Frost.  Oh sweet sweet cancelled products, how I've missed you.

[Shadow]

I can't find Chocodiles anywhere anymore. I'm also too lazy to order them online.

[Patient7]

My mom also loves razzles and chiklets.

[Mr. DS]

According to this site, Oompas are no longer being made.  That saddens me. 

http://www.candywarehouse.com/oompas.html

[Killer Bees]

My childhood is filled with culinary disappointments.

When I was a kid and KFC was still Kentucky Fried Chicken, they bought out a barbeque flavoured version.  It was delicious!  We would pester our parents to buy it constantly.  It didn't last long and they never bothered selling it again.  I was most upset.

Also, Nestle had a Quik milk flavouring range in Pineapple which I also loved.  They took it out of production and never brought it back. 

Kellogs made Strawberry Pops which were da schiznit but they stopped making them too.  Really, who cares about Coco Pops? 

Recently, an Aussie dairy company brought out a sticky date trifle thingy.  It had the sticky date pudding/cake at the bottom, with the caramel/butterscotch creamy sauce and a thick layer of extra thick cream at the top.  Oh.My.God.     Forget the best orgasm you've ever had, this was like a 7 hour culinary orgasm for your tongue.  I would buy one nearly every day.  After a couple of months, the supermarket stopped stocking them and I haven't been able to find them since.

Probably just as well, the calorie count was through the roof and I don't need the extra poundage.  But damn, it was fine!

[Killer Bees]

  Hi, Dr M.

Our local milk supplier put out a new kind of cow juice the other day: tired from work, I just grabbed a container, paid and got home. I made some coffee and used this milk and spat the coffee out, scalding the cat. I was wondering what was up: was my coffee old or was the milk bad, until I looked at the label and saw that the milk was vanilla flavoured. I tasted it: delicious, like a milkshake.

Now it has become so popular, I can't find it anywhere. 

My other lifelong attachment has been to orange flavoured chocolate. I know that might sound gross, but it isn't really. That's another thing I can't find anywhere: I approached Cadbury's and they said that the product had been taken off the market. Too popular, I suppose.

There's a product called Terry's Chocolate Orange.  It's the size of a medium orange and it's cut into segments like an orange and it's chocolate with orange oil through it.  I haven't tried it, but it's supposed to be delicious. 

Check out the pic:

http://bestuff.com/stuff/terrys-chocolate-orange

You can also buy it from the net at www.expatdirect.co.uk

Hope this helps!

[Newt]

Terry's Chocolate Oranges ARE delicious!    They come in dark and milk chocolate.  And the white choclate 'snowball' version is positively sinful.

[JaseSF]

Used to buy a product called Maple Buds all the time, kinda like those chocolate Rosebuds, but a much tastier chocolate IMO. Wish I could still get some more of that.